trivia tuesday

trivia tuesday at the whimsey project! our day to share all manner of trivia; factual or experiential! share your trivia.

did you notice the previous post, miscellaneous monday? the word miscellaneous was typed four times and, randomly, they all aligned.

for summer! in the great smoky mountains of tennessee, there is a phenomenon known as synchronized fireflies. the photinus carolinus beetle is the magical lightning bug (as they are called in the south) that flashes their lights in unison. but only for two weeks of the year in the months of may or june. people flock to have this experience. to find out more, here's a link:  

http://www.yoursmokies.com/firefliesinthesmokies.html

miscellaneous monday

miscellaneous monday at the whimsey project! our day to share all the miscellaneous stuff.  why? because i like spelling and saying the word miscellaneous. and it seems a good topic for the whimsey project. share your miscellaneous today.

the kittens are growing! romping around, curious, about everything in sight. we are enjoying their antics. last week two more kittens appeared. mama thought it was time to bring them near the source of food other than herself. thus far all but one kitten is a ginger. the remaining one is black.  if it's not the kittens munching cat food, it's the raccoons. at least seven of them; five kits and their parents. the single tom turkey has become two as turkey one has been bringing a buddy around to eat cracked corn. deer as well, babies and moms. you'd think this farm was a restaurant!

get ready.....

get ready for whimsical wednesday! july first, day 182, will be the beginning of the second half of the year.  have a half party! do half a chore. make half a pizza. watch half a movie. make half a craft. sing half a song! work half of a crossword puzzle. bake a cake and share half with someone else. the half possibilities are endless! begin planning now!

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. share what you are reading.

a short history of nearly everything by bill bryson is what i'm reading. thus far i have read the introduction and began part one: lost in the cosmos; how to build a universe and welcome to the solar system. while written simply, i find myself rereading sections for full understanding.  my kind of book!

silly saturday

silly saturday at the whimsey project! our day to share silliness to make us grin, giggle, guffaw. share!

lil mouse found the birthday cake; sneaks a taste of icing!

photo friday

what's going on?

thoughtful thursday

unknown:

i must stop starting at the beginning.

whimsical wednesday

we're exploring wabi-sabi for whimsical wednesday.  wabi-sabi is a japanese philosophy that embraces the imperfections in life.  (for more information see links posted on monday; get ready for whimsical wednesday).  many sources i read discussed "practicing" the art of the imperfect. that was confounding to me as we don't need to practice! imperfect is inevitable.  then i realized that the practice was in the acceptance of the imperfect. whimsical wednesday's activity is to apply wabi-sabi to the "imperfect" that is important to you. share your whimsical wednesday wabi-sabi with the whimsey project!

the floor.  in the realm of wabi-sabi the floor in my home is my nemesis! when i sweep and mop the floor, the outcome i expect is clean.  very clean. completely clean as in getting all the debris when sweeping and all the spots when mopping. that never happens. i can never get it all.  it's a major grrrrrr.....   the bane of my housekeeping existence!  i often feel i could live with the debris, dirt and huge dust bunnies with more compatibility then missing some of it when i attempt to clean the floor. thus, the floor was my wabi-sabi activity for whimsical wednesday. armed with my broom, i dug in. with great concentration i endeavored to capture that which did not belong on the floor. the floor got a thorough sweep then a second once over.  whatever was left (hiding from me; laughing, laughing, laughing) just had to be the imperfect. the post-sweeping inspection revealed that the task got more dirt than it left behind. i see what was missed but i'm ok with it. sort of. now the mopping part? that will have to wait for another day of practicing wabi-sabi.  i used up all my patience with the sweeping!    

trivia tuesday

trivia tuesday at the whimsey project! our day to share all manner of trivia; factual or experiential. we want your trivia! share!

a salute to summer!  watermelons, which are 92% water, originated from the kalahari desert in africa!

miscellaneous monday

there's only so much time in a day, week, month, year. time is filled with musts and these have to be addressed.  but how many musts are there really?  recently i decided that the limitations of time and body alone influenced how much a person can accomplish.  my solution to these limitations? eat dessert first!  (not literally, although that sounds good too.) instead of giving the best of myself to all the musts, i have been altered my daily routine. the pressing chores like feeding the fur will be occur. thereafter, i sit down to work on art projects. the table is strewn with projects and supplies. i don't put it away. i want to be able to sit down and immediately create. if the table is needed for another purpose like eating a meal, the supplies get moved to the side. after focusing on art projects for awhile, i'm actully more ready (and willing) to attend to some of the chores. allowing myself the freedom to do create on my terms has done wondered for my art and my person.

get ready.....

get ready for whimsical wednesday! we are exploring the japanese concept of wabi-sabi; the acceptance of the imperfections of life.  consider how you will practice wabi-sabi for whimsical wednesday. here are a few links to further explore wabi-sabi:

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Wabi-sabi

http://www.wholeliving.com/133628/wabi-sabi-your-life-6-strategies-embracing-imperfection

http://nobleharbor.com/tea/chado/WhatIsWabi-Sabi.htm

https://experiencelife.com/article/the-wabi-sabi-self/

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book.  any book will do. just read! maybe read a book that's been on a shelf a long time waiting for you!  share your book too.

having finished the lifetime reading plan last sunday, i picked up another book the same day. it's very absorbing so i am already halfway through it. the devil in the white city by erik larson is an accounting of the 1893 chicago world's fair. it is a parallel story of the main architect of the fair, daniel burnham and dr h.h. holmes, america's jack the ripper who used the fair and chicago at large as his hunting grounds. an amazing true account that reads like the best fiction of crime and mystery.

silly saturday

silly saturday at the whimsey project! our day to share silly stuff to make us grin, giggle, guffaw. share your silly today!

moving can make a person silly!

photo friday

recently discovered tucked in a closet at mom's: sister in watercolor by brother.

thoughtful thursday

elephant health and wellness:

of the dandelion in seed stage;  some see a weed. i see a wish.

whimsical wednesday

whimsical wednesday at the whimsey project. today we are preparing for father's day.  create a card, make a simple useful item, make a coupon book of activities or services you'll perform. find out dad's favorite meal and make preparations to prepare that on father's day. collaborate with siblings on a surprise.  if you have no father to honor, find ways to continue to do so. remember those guys who have been like a dad to you.

my father is no longer living so my father's day honor to him will be a donation to the vfw honor guard that he serviced for 50 years.  

trivia tuesday

trivia tuesday at the whimsey project! our day to talk trivia. personal or experiential, bring it on!

i've got two trivia tidbits today!
*from atlas obscura:  edinburgh, scotland had the first fire brigade in the world.

*somewhere on twitter:  guinea pigs (or guinea hogs as we call them) are natural swimmers. however, they must be slowly introduced to water so they won't panic.

miscellaneous monday

miscellaneous monday at the whimsey project! our day to share stuff in the miscellaneous category. interesting stuff, unusual stuff, unique stuff.  share your stuff this miscellaneous monday!

a friend recently moved to reading, pennsylvania. besides the railroad in the game monopoly, reading is famous for a pagoda.  yes,  a pagoda.  she visited this unique landmark recently then sent the following link to share with fellow wim-zees! enjoy:

http://www.readingpagoda.com/history.html

get ready.....

get ready for whimsical wednesday.  gonna be preparing for father's day.  think about making dad something and complete the project on wednesday. go shopping. think of different father's day ideas to share with dad come father's day sunday.

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. enjoy any books but pay particular attention to books that have been waiting a long time to be read. share your book with the whimsey project on solitude sunday.

the lifetime reading plan by clifton fadiman is coming to a close. reading the poetry chapter today enlightened me about donne, milton, blake, wordsworth, coleridge, yeats, eliot, frost. of all of these poets, frost intrigues.  

silly saturday

silly saturday at the whimsey project! our day to share all the silliness to make us grin, giggle, guffaw! we like silly so share silly!

when i was a kid i liked dot-to-dot, color by number, paint with water and color appears, puzzles such as mazes, find the difference, find-a-word. my sister and i would have a color book between us and color a page side by side. for christmas my sister gave me a homemade book filled with all these activities, including a simple version of chutes and ladders!  one is never too old to play and be silly! here's a photo of my busy book, as she entitled it:

photo friday

sweet cher, first child of amanda and michael.

thoughtful thursday

sock monkey on twitter:

i think i'll give up should, guilt and feeling like i'm not good enough at least for the summer....

whimsical wednesday

it's national ball point pen for whimsical wednesday! we are playing a game. look all around your house, office, car, wherever you are to discover all the places you keep pens. how many places did you find? did you count the pens you discovered? what was the most unusual pen? a favorite pen? one you thought you lost? did you discover something you weren't expecting at all while looking for pens?  report your findings here at the whimsey project!

trivia tuesday

trivia tuesday at the whimsey project! our day to share all the trivia.  factual or experiential, bring it on!

from the daily planet:
GOLDFISH!!
*goldfish can't close their eyes.
*goldfish can see infrared radiation.
*goldfish will lose their color is kept in a dark room.

miscellaneous monday

miscellaneous monday at the whimsey project! our day to share all the stuff we want to share. we enjoy it all so share your stuff this miscellaneous monday!

from facebook's smashed peas and carrots: the plight known to all who love to create and handcraft!

get ready.....

get ready for whimsical wednesday! it's national ball point pen day! to celebrate, let's play a game. look all around your house and/or office.  make note of the different places you have a pen. how many places and where?  the most unusual place? what type of pen is your favorite?

solitude sunday

solitude sunday at the whimsey project. our day to spend time with a book. any book will do, however, pay particular attention to those books that have long waited on the shelf to be read. what are you reading? share your book with the whimsey project.

having completed the narratives section of the lifetime reading plan by clifton fadiman with dostoysvsky,tolstoy, nabokov and solzhenitsyn, it was time for the next chapter. in the philosophy, psychology, politics and essays chapter, i read about hobbes, locke, hume, mill, marx and engels, nietzsche, freud, machiavelli, montaigne, descartes, pascal and tocqueville. of these thinkers, locke would be one to pursue further.

silly saturday

silly saturday at the whimsey project! our day to share all the silly stuff to make us grin, giggle, guffaw! make us grin, giggle, guffaw with your silly on silly saturday!

signs, signs, signs:

*london department store:  bargain basement upstairs
*in a field:  the farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free but the bull charges.
*in an office: after tea break staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining rack.

photo friday

my young friends petting their passion: horses!

thoughtful thursday

d. g. haskell:

when laughing children chase after fireflies, they are not pursuing beetles but catching wonder.

whimsical wednesday

it's national repeat day for whimsical wednesday! celebrate by repeating something for some part of the day.  a favorite song over and over and over again? the same doodle? shampoo.....wash, rinse, repeat? a treat to eat? watch the same movie more than once? then share your repeat, repeat, repeat with the whimsey project!

trivia tuesday

trivia tuesday at the whimsey project! our day to share all manner of trivia; experiential or factual. bring it on! we want your trivia!

from real simple magazine:

in the united states, there are more pink plastic lawn flamingos than actual flamingos!

miscellaneous monday

another litter of kittens was spotted over the weekend! while not an accurate count, there seems to be six.  plus the two we found previously, that is eight kittens.  there are more out there. the census of spring 2015? already more than we can handle!!  meanwhile in chicago, my granddaughter's two guinea hogs appear to be male and female. the evidence that suggests this recently discovered fact? my daughter's instagram post:

sarah writes: that was unexpected!

get ready.....

get ready for whimsical wednesday! it's national repeat day!  that's right, repeat day! repeat day! repeat day! what will you be repeating on whimsical wednesday? think, think, think, think.....